Mo Koundje ('Mok'): the life of a western lowland gorilla (c.1929–1938)

Mo Koundje (“Mok”) was a western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) whose remains form part of the collection of Leeds Museums and Galleries. Before his early death from Bright’s disease (nephritis), he was hugely popular during six years of captivity spent at London Zoo. Newspapers from around the United Kingdom and across the globe reported Mok’s arrival at the Zoo, his exploits, illnesses and demise. While the archives of the Zoological Society of London tell us about the latter part of Mok’s life, tracing his life and journey before entering Europe has proved more difficult. However, French colonial archives held at the Archives nationales d’outre-mer, Aix-en-Provence, give glimpses of the life of his previous owner, Jean Charles André Capagorry, allowing us to piece together the long journey Mok made from a Congolese forest to a museum in Leeds.